Posts Tagged ‘author’

Alright butterflies, it’s finally time I post my first interview. Because she is a wildly imaginative author, Helen Deakin will be in the Spotlight.

Helen grew up in Toowoomba, Queensland and recently moved to Laidley with her partner Dave and their three beautiful children and they are her most important passion.

She has been writing since she was capable of stringing a basic sentence together (Helen still has her first book “Sally’s Monster” laying around somewhere) and all she ever dreamed of was becoming an author. Helen is currently working on editing her next two novels, “The Ruined Ones,” and “Precient”, putting together a short story collection, and writing a requested piece of work, based on the war journal entries of the client’s father. Sometimes Helen tries to do too many things at once because she is highly allergic to sitting still and doing nothing.

Our sweet guest was kind enough to answer a couple of questions for me. (If you have any that are not on the following list, make sure to comment and ask!)

How long have you been a writer/artist?

I have been writing ever since I could string a sentence together on paper (the first little book I wrote was when I was five and was called “Sally’s Monster). However, it was only a couple years ago I decided to take the plunge into professional writing and publish my first full length novel, “Behind Blue Eyes.”

2. Tell us a fun and interesting fact about one of your projects?

My latest book I am working on, “The Ruined Ones,” came about due to a very bizarre dream I had in which I was a man whose wife and baby had been kidnapped by people who had taken over the world. They had us segregated into groups, the bad ones kept in cattle yards for slaughter and the good ones taken elsewhere. Needless to say, “The Ruined Ones” isn’t exactly the same but the idea for it arose from this strange sleep story my mind created.

3. Of your own work, which specific piece would you be excited to be known best for?

“The Ruined Ones,” which I am still in the final editing phases of. It is my favourite of all my work because I am a huge fan of post-apocalyptic stuff.

4. If you could, who would you ask to look at your work?

Stephen King, without a doubt.

5. How do you overcome writer’s/artist’s block?

I have a notebook I always have near me that I write random ideas, snippet of interesting conversations and parts of dreams, books or movies I think could be blossomed into a story of its own. If I am in need of inspiration, that’s what I look at.

6. In which genre do you enjoy working the most (horror, mystery, abstract, etc.)?

Horror and thrillers are my main niche and definitely my favourite genres.

7. How long does it take you to complete a project?

It depends, I guess. Behind Blue Eyes was something I wrote when I was only about 17 and I went back to it years later to finish it so I am not sure exactly how long that one took, however “The Ruined Ones” I hand-wrote nearly 400 pages from start to finish in exactly 30 days (which is saying something considering I am a mother of three young children and also run a small hobby business from home—among other commitments).

8. What would you tell aspiring writers/artists?

Determination and belief in your abilities is key. No matter what anyone else might say about how hard it is to break into the writing industry and make it, never give up. Most of all, don’t expect to get a major break and just be thrown into stardom. Everything takes time and if you give it said time, you will build yourself up as a great writer/artist and be better off for taking a long road, learning so much along the way.

9. Who is your favorite mainstream writer/artist?

Stephen King will always be top of my list but I also really enjoy books by Matthew Reilly, Brian Keene and Sandra Brown

10. And, most importantly, do you have a favorite hot or cold beverage and/or snack that you like to have with you while working?

Coffee, coffee, coffee and most importantly, coffee.

I hope you all enjoyed this interview, and if you find something you wish me to improve upon in the future, let me know!